Thomas
"Thomas & Friends - 'The Big Live Tour'" and "Thomas & Friends - The All Aboard Live Tour" were two arena stage shows in the UK produced by DC Entertainment and Tell-Tale Productions in 2002. The tour was repeated within the next four years and also toured Japan by Fuji Television in 2005. Plot The Live show has had two different stories, in which the set was modified to suit the tour. In the Big Live Tour, Thomas is constantly being told off for being late, which James and Gordon tease Thomas about. Percy however tries to defend this, but finds that Thomas thinks he is not Really Useful anymore and so runs away from Sodor. The next day however there is trouble at the tunnel and when Gordon, James and Percy investigate they get stuck. Thomas and Jack are alerted by Harold about this news and manage to save the engines. Thomas is once again a Really Useful Engine. In the All Aboard Live Tour, Thomas breaks his whistle and has to borrow the local school's bell as a replacement. Meanwhile Gordon, the Fat Controller and various railway staff have caught colds. That night, when there is a fire at the Fat Controller's house, Thomas uses the school bell to warn him. While the Fat Controller states that his tea cake burnt while he fell asleep, Thomas has proved himself a really useful engine. The next day, as the Fat Controller tells the engines that there is a parade taking place on Sodor, Thomas is to lead it, but during that day, James loses his special load. Percy hears a ghostly noise which sounds suspiciously like an elephant and is derailed before anyone can do anything about it, forcing Thomas and his new animal friends Nellie and Twinkles the elephants to pull Percy onto the rails. Later that day, the parade takes place and is a huge success. Characters * Thomas * Gordon * James * Percy * Annie and Clarabel * Jack * Harold * Sir Topham Hatt * Mrs. Martin * The Mayoress * Gachapin (Japan only) * Mukku (Japan only) * Edward * Henry * Donald and Douglas * Bertie Songs * It's Great To Be An Engine * Another Busy Day on the Trains * Come for the Ride * Start the Parade Trivia * The James model earned a Guinness World Record in 2004 as the largest electric model train. * Thomas' model was used for the Queens Party at Buckingham Palace in 2006 with Jonathan Ross playing the Fat Controller. * Gordon's model in the show was too big to go around the curves, so the model just moves in and out the shed. * The model engines can blink and change their expressions through four buttons inside the cab. Four other buttons inside the cab can control the steering of the engines. * A poster for this tour can be seen on the side of a double-decker bus in the 2003 film, Love Actually. * The Troublesome Trucks are missing their couplings and buffers. * A few of the props were put up for sale on eBay; the faces on most of the characters were taken off and were worn out and the props themselves were not in the best of shape. These initially did not reach the reserve, but when relisted individually in May 2019, James (minus his tender), Percy and Annie/Clarabel received enough bids and were sold. Gordon and Harold were put up for sale in August 2019. Thomas' prop was scrapped late in 2018. * Percy and Annie/Clarabel have now been sold to Marwell Zoo, outside of Southampton. * Most of the models used in the show were stored at Greenham Common Nuclear Facility as of November 2018. * It was going to tour Australia but it was cancelled and replaced with Thomas Saves the Day. * References to the first series episodes, Edward and Gordon and Thomas Goes Fishing and the second series episode, Ghost Train are made in the second story. * There is footage from the Big and All Aboard Tours: ** The Big Live Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnxrLsrkAps&t=68s ** The All Aboard Live Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8UDrmy6tXA&t=40s Goofs * Gordon is missing his lamp-irons and coupling hook. * Thomas says he is not strong enough because of his "engine", but he has a boiler. In Other Languages External Links *Behind the Scenes photos *Props on eBay References Category:Parks and Events Category:Live Performance